Absent Voting: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to review electoral law in Northern Ireland in relation to postal voting; what are the major differences from the law in England; and whether they have any plans to enable those over 80 years of age, on application and verification, to have automatic permanent postal votes.

Baroness Randerson: The system of postal voting in Northern Ireland is kept under regular review, both by the Government and the Chief Electoral Officer and Electoral Commission. Legislative amendments will be brought forward shortly with the introduction of anonymous registration which will permit electors with an anonymous entry on the electoral register to vote by post. These provisions will come into force on 15 September 2014.
	Postal votes are issued to electors in Northern Ireland who are unable to vote in person at their polling station on Election Day as a result of certain specified conditions. These conditions relate to disability, work or study circumstances. This is different to Great Britain where postal voting is offered on demand and electors are not required to provide a reason for why they are unable to vote in person.
	There are no plans to enable those over 80 years of age to have automatic permanent postal votes. However, permanent postal votes are available to all electors who are unable to attend their polling station on a permanent or long-term basis on the grounds of disability; their (or their husband’s, wife’s or civil partner’s) work; or their (or their husband’s, wife’s or civil partner’s) studies.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask her Majesty’s Government how many members of the armed forces are currently posted overseas.

Lord Astor of Hever: At 1 April 2014 there were approximately 18,070 Regular Armed Forces Personnel stationed overseas. This figure excludes Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service personnel and mobilised reservists.
	Details of the locations by country and breakdown by Service are reported as part of our Quarterly Location Statistics and the latest report is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/312590/qls_april_14.pdf
	The next quarterly report is due to be published on 21 August 2014.

Armed Forces: Elections

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask her Majesty’s Government what procedures are in place to ensure that members of the armed forces posted overseas receive, and are able to post, postal ballot papers; and whether any members of the armed forces have complained as a result of not being able to do so in each of the last ten years.

Lord Astor of Hever: Well established processes are in place to ensure that members of the Armed Forces posted overseas are able to vote in all those elections for which they are eligible.
	The MOD runs an annual information campaign on Electoral Registration which sets out the options for Armed Forces personnel and their families to register to vote. Where Armed Forces personnel are to be posted overseas they are encouraged to appoint a proxy as this removes any doubt about whether a postal vote can be received and returned in time before polls close. Some personnel prefer to cast their own vote and the Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 has extended the electoral timetable so that Returning Officers are able to send postal ballot papers out earlier than previously allowed. This will give Armed Forces Personnel more time to receive and return their ballots if they have chosen this option.
	The MOD continues to work with the Electoral Commission and the British Forces Post Office, as it has done for previous elections, to ensure that postal ballot papers are identified and quickly processed through the mail system where operationally possible.
	Information about complaints related to an inability to vote whilst overseas for the last ten years is not held centrally.

Asylum: Finance

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 6 May (WA 322), what form the review of asylum support rates will take; and which stakeholders will be consulted.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The review is an internal Home Office one, to ensure that the payments provided to destitute asylum seekers are sufficient to cover their essential living needs consistent with the judgement of 9 April. The Home Office has met with
	representatives of “Still Human Still Here”, a coalition of organisations with an established interest in the issue. The review will take full account of both their views and the details of the judgment of 9 April.

Asylum: Gender Recognition

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask her Majesty’s Government how many people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom on the grounds of trans-related issues have been refused asylum and deported to their countries of origin over the last five years.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The Home Office does not centrally record this specific data and the information requested could only be obtained through a manual search of individual case files. This would exceed the cost limit.

Debts

Lord Kinnock: To ask her Majesty’s Government what figures for household debt in the United Kingdom were provided by the Office for Budget Responsibility in each year from 2010–11 to 2013–14 and estimated for 2014–15; and what is the percentage represented by such debt of (1) national income, and (2) disposable income, in each year.

Lord Deighton: The OBR publish figures for household debt, GDP and disposable income on their website alongside their Economic and Fiscal Outlook.
	In 2010-11 total lending to households in the United Kingdom or debt liabilities was estimated to be £1.53 trillion in the National Accounts produced by the Office for National Statistics, this is equivalent to 102% of annual Gross Domestic Product and 152% of household disposable income in that year. In 2011-12 the figure was 1.53 trillion (99% and147% respectively), and in 2012-13 the figure was 1.54 trillion (98% and 143%). These data are not yet available for 2013-14. In their March 2014 Economic and fiscal outlook the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast these figures to be 1.66 trillion in 2014-15 (97% and 144% respectively).

Defamation

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask her Majesty’s Government what are the reasons for the delay in implementing cost protection measures in defamation reform.

Lord Faulks: The Government is still considering the way forward.

Deportation: LGBT People

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask her Majesty’s Government how many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers have been deported from the United Kingdom over the last five years.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: It is not possible to provide information on the number of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender asylum seekers who have been deported from the UK, as sexual identity is not information that the Home Office centrally records.

Domestic Violence

Baroness Gale: To ask her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with police forces in England and Wales and with the Football Association of England in order to counter any rise in domestic violence while England are playing in the World Cup 2014; and what steps they are taking to ensure that police forces and supporting agencies are fully resourced to deal with the matter.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime and the Coalition Government is committed to ending it whenever it occurs.
	Together with the police, we are supporting the Football United Against Domestic Abuse campaign by Women’s Aid, the launch of which was attended by the Crime Prevention Minister and supported by the Home Secretary. This campaign is working with the football community to unite players, clubs and fans at all levels against behaviour and attitudes that underpin domestic abuse.
	The Crime Prevention Minister intends to meet with footballing interests in the near future to build on this campaign.
	As part of its commitment to tackle domestic abuse, the Government is re-running a campaign to highlight the devastating consequences of domestic abuse for perpetrators of domestic abuse. The campaign was launched on 9 June and activity will run throughout the World Cup until 14 July 2014. Through posters and digital adverts, this campaign will target potential perpetrators and remind them of the terrible impact of violence on relationships.
	Additional support to victims of domestic abuse is available through specialist local domestic abuse services and the national domestic violence helplines. The Coalition Government has ring-fenced nearly £28 million of funding up to 2015 to support these services, which includes part-funding 144 Independent Domestic Violence Advisors and 54 Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference co-ordinator posts.

Egypt

Lord Stone of Blackheath: To ask her Majesty’s Government what funds are available via the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development to help the people of Egypt to promote good governance, economic development and the rule of law.

Baroness Northover: The FCO and DFID support Egypt through the following funds:
	1) The Arab Partnership Economic Facility
	2) The Arab Partnership Participation Fund, and
	3) The Conflict Pool

Employment: Young People

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask her Majesty’s Government how many 18–21 year olds and 22–24 year olds in England are (1) employed, (2) employed and claiming housing benefit, and (3) employed and claiming housing benefit and on an apprenticeship.

Lord Freud: Since May 2010, the number of out-of-work Housing Benefit claimants has fallen. Action this Government has taken is bringing the ballooning housing benefit bill under control - saving the taxpayer around £6bn by the end of this Parliament
	Housing benefit has always helped those in and out of work. The average rate of increase of housing benefit claimants in work has slowed under this Government, having increased by more than 50% in just 18 months under the last Government. And we have seen a fall in the number of housing benefit claimants in the last year.
	(1) Analysis of the Labour Force Survey for the most recent period Jan-Mar 2014 shows that:
	Of those aged 18-21 in England, around 1,567,000 are employed.
	Of those aged 22-24 in England, around 1,242,000 are employed.
	(2) (3)The information for those in work or undertaking apprenticeships, is only available for HB recipients whose claim is not passported: that is for those who do not receive the following benefits: Income Support, Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income-Based), Employment and Support Allowance (Income-Based), or Pension Credit (Guaranteed Credit).
	The information that shows those in work for HB recipients whose claim is not passported can be found at:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk
	Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
	https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Stat-Xplore_User_Guide.htm
	Those in apprenticeships are recorded as being in work and cannot be separately identified.
	The economic status of all Housing Benefit (HB) recipients is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Energy: Prices

Lord Berkeley: To ask her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 16 June (WA 23–24) on energy prices, what assessment they have made of the time needed for suppliers to develop a conditional Contracts for Difference (CfD) power purchase agreement (PPA), for it to undergo an internal credit approval process, to be negotiated competitively with independent generators, and to be assessed by the generator’s putative financiers before they can offer finance terms to independent generators; and what impact they consider that timeframe will have on conditional PPAs being agreed prior to the first allocation round of CfDs.

Baroness Verma: We anticipate that some generators will seek to establish the terms of any PPA and financing arrangements before they participate in the CfD allocation round, in order to understand better their likely costs. Agreements between generators and PPA providers could take a number of different forms, from indicative terms to a signed contract. The decision to sign a conditional PPA ahead of the auction, and the duration of any agreement, are ultimately commercial matters.
	We anticipate that the Offtaker of Last Resort (OLR) will encourage competition in the PPA market both at the outset of the CfD and once any initial PPA has expired. Generators agreeing to a conditional PPA would be able to participate in the later short-term PPA market, once their initial PPA had expired; backed by the protections afforded by the OLR.

Energy: Prices

Lord Berkeley: To ask her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 16 June (WA 23–24) on energy prices, what evidence there is to suggest that smaller suppliers will be capable of developing a conditional Contracts for Difference (CfD) power purchase agreement (PPA) in time for the first CfD auctions in October 2014; and whether their reliance on the development of conditional PPAs to support the participation of independent generators is in line with the suggestion made by the Minister of State for Energy, Michael Fallon MP, on 4 December 2013 during the passage of the Energy Act 2013 that electricity market reform would “result in greater competition among PPA providers and support smaller suppliers, as generators will not have to rely on large incumbents with strong credit ratings to sell their power in the market” (HC Deb, col 970).

Baroness Verma: We anticipate that some generators will seek to establish the terms of any PPA and financing arrangements before they participate in the CfD allocation round, in order to understand better their likely costs. Such conditional PPAs could take a number of forms, from indicative terms to a signed contract.
	In 2013, DECC officials established an industry Market Readiness group to prepare the market for offering CfD PPAs. There are now a number of PPA providers discussing terms with potential developers but these discussions are commercially sensitive.
	The Offtaker of Last Resort will allow generators to develop their projects using shorter-term PPAs with smaller suppliers. We are on track to introduce enabling regulations to have the OLR mechanism in place ahead of the first CfD allocation in Autumn 2014.

Homelessness

Baroness King of Bow: To ask her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stowell of Beeston on 10 March (WA 351) on homelessness, how much was awarded to each of the 47 local authorities for preventing homelessness in 2011–12.
	To ask her Majesty’s Government how much funding was provided to the London Borough of Croydon in 2010–11 to host Andy Gale as a homelessness advisor and what work was required under the terms of that contract.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston: Under this and the last Administration, the Department for Communities and Local Government has provided grant funding to a number of local authorities to support the provision of advice on preventing homelessness to complement the funding we provide to the voluntary sector.
	The London Borough of Croydon received £1,591,050 in grant in 2010-11 for homelessness prevention, which was intended to support a range of activities including a contribution to the costs of providing homelessness advice to local authorities in London. The payment to Croydon was made under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003 (the general power to pay grant to local authorities towards expenditure incurred or to be incurred). The grant was unring-fenced and not subject to any conditions.
	As was the position with funding provided to Newham, as set out in the answers to the noble Lady on 13 February 2013, Official Report, column WA165 and of 27 March 2013, Official Report, column WA247, there was no contract either between the Department and the London Borough of Croydon or the Department and Andy Gale.
	While departmental officials had discussions with Croydon about how the grant was to be spent, Ministers in this Administration had no involvement with local authorities on commissioning such services.
	A copy of the Homelessness Revenue Grant Determination 2011-12 (31/1974) dated 1 March 2012 which lists the amount of funding received by 47 local authorities in 2011-12 for homelessness prevention work has been placed in the Library of the House.

Learning Disability: Health Services

Baroness Hollins: To ask her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that people with learning disabilities are not excluded from NHS England’s five- year strategic plan for National Health Service commissioners to improve quality of and access to health care, outlined in Everyone Counts: Planning for Patients 2014/15–2018/19.

Earl Howe: The Government’s Mandate to NHS England, sets out our ambitions for the health service, which include an objective that NHS England ensures clinical commissioning groups work with local authorities to ensure that vulnerable people, particularly those with learning disabilities and autism, receive safe, appropriate, high quality care. NHS England sets out how it will achieve the objectives in the Mandate in its 2014-15 – 2016-17 business plan. The Government will hold NHS England to account for its achievement.
	Everyone Counts: Planning for Patients 2014/15 to 2018/19sets out a framework within which commissioners will need to work with providers and partners in local government to develop five year plans to secure the continuity of sustainable high quality care for all. Building on Everyone Counts, NHS England is beginning a programme of work to consider how to improve quality of and access to health care for people with learning disabilities. Within the framework there is specific reference to Transforming Care: A national response to Winterbourne View Hospital. This is a non-negotiable item that NHS England expects to be part of every relationship between commissioners and providers. As part of this, clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and specialised commissioners should work together to implement the core specification which describes the core principles that must be present in all education, health and social care services for children, young people, adults and older people with learning disabilities and/or autism who either display, or are at risk of displaying, behaviour that challenges.
	NHS England is committed to work to reduce premature mortality amongst people with learning disability, including actions in response to the Confidential Inquiry into Premature Deaths of People with Learning Disabilities.

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask her Majesty’s Government what is the detailed breakdown of the £7,250,000 so far incurred by the special administration process in relation to Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust.
	To ask her Majesty’s Government what is the detailed breakdown of the estimated £12 to £15 million total cost of the special administration process in relation to Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust.

Earl Howe: The £7,250,000 incurred by the special administration process at Mid Staffordshire
	NHS Trust relates to the period when the trust special administrators (TSAs) were appointed in April 2013, to the point at which the Secretary of State announced his decision to accept the TSAs’ proposals in February 2014.
	We are informed by Monitor that the total figure of £7,250,000 can be broadly broken down as follows:
	- Cost of the TSAs and supporting team to run the Trust - £2,000,000;- Cost of solution development - £3,600,000; and- Cost of stakeholder engagement and consultation - £1,650,000.
	Monitor has estimated the total cost of the special administration process will be £12 to £15 million. This was first announced as part of its decision to accept the TSAs’ final proposals on 16 January 2104 and re-stated in an announcement on 13 March 2014. This includes the £7,250,000 and £250,000 expenses incurred up to the point of the Secretary of State’s decision.
	The remainder of the estimated total cost consists of costs incurred in the period leading up to the dissolution of the trust. These are the cost of continuing to employ a team to run the trust, and the cost of implementing the recommendations set out in the TSAs’ Final Report.
	We are also informed by Monitor that an original budget for the remaining costs was agreed at approximately £7,000,000.
	That total figure of £7,000,000 can be broadly broken down as follows:
	- Cost of the TSAs and supporting team to run the Trust - £1,500,000;- Cost of delivering the transaction - £2,100,000; and- Cost of splitting the Trust - £3,400,000.
	The team running the trust will be required to remain in place up to the point at which the trust is dissolved.

North York Moors National Park

Lord Greaves: To ask her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of (1) the reasons for the decision of the North York Moors National Park Authority to cease to maintain the footpaths and bridleways within the National Park, and (2) the likely short- and long-term consequences of that decision for (a) the contribution made by volunteers, (b) the quality of the rights of way network in the National Park, and (c) the local economy in and around the Park.

Lord De Mauley: The Government recognises the importance of high quality access infrastructure within the tourism offer of national parks and the valuable role played by many volunteers in helping to maintain rights of ways. Rights of way are the primary means by which people
	access the countryside and engage in outdoor recreation, which is good for health and well-being and good for the economy.
	Maintenance of rights of way is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. The North York Moors National Park Authority is an independent body and its agreements with local authorities are for it to decide. The Government has made no assessment of any change in approach on this issue or the possible consequences.

Prison Accommodation

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: To ask her Majesty’s Government how many category A and category B prisoners are currently being held in category C or category D prisons.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: All prisoners are assessed as to their risk of escape or abscond, and their risk of harm to the public should they escape or abscond, which ensures allocation of prisoners to a prison providing appropriate levels of security. Only those prisoners categorised as C would be held in a category C prison and only those considered suitable would be held in category D open conditions.
	Those same procedures ensure that category A and B prisoners are not allocated to category C or D prisons and that all prisoners are held in an establishment of at least the security category to which they have been assigned.
	Prisoners re-categorised to a higher category would be held in the prison’s Segregation Unit until such time as they could be moved to more appropriate accommodation.

Prisoners on Remand: Females

Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill: To ask her Majesty’s Government what proportion of women remanded in custody are subsequently convicted and receive an immediate custodial sentence in (1) each magistrates' court, and (2) each Crown Court, in England and Wales.

Lord Faulks: The decision to sentence a person to a custodial sentence, or to remand a person into custody prior to trial or sentencing, is a matter for the independent judiciary and courts will take into account all the circumstances of the offence and the offender in determining this. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 introduced a new “no real prospect” test which means that people should be released on bail if it is unlikely that they would receive a custodial sentence on conviction. Sentencing guidelines also make clear that if an offender is the
	sole or primary carer for dependent relatives then this should be considered a mitigating factor for avoiding a custodial sentence.
	We are committed to making sure sentencers have robust community options at their disposal. Companies bidding for contracts under our Transforming Rehabilitation reforms will be expected to demonstrate in their bids an effective approach to the identification and recognition of women’s needs, as well as protected characteristics, to make sure that individual needs are properly addressed, and they will be held to account to deliver these services in their contracts. We have recently introduced Section 10 of the Offender Rehabilitation Act which requires contracts and service level agreements with all future providers for the supervision and
	rehabilitation of offenders to identify which services are designed to meet the particular needs of female offenders.
	We are also working through the Female Offenders Advisory Board to improve options for Enhanced Community Provision and will be raising awareness of this to criminal justice system practitioners.
	Table 1 shows the proportion of female defendants remanded in custody at magistrates' courts and subsequently given immediate custody, broken down by local justice area in England and Wales in 2013.
	Table 2 shows the proportion of female defendants remanded in custody at the Crown Court and subsequently given immediate custody, broken down by Crown Court centre in England and Wales in 2013.
	
		
			 Proportion of female defendants remanded in custody at magistrates' courts(1) and subsequently given immediate custody, broken down by local justice area, England & Wales, 2013(2)(3)(4) 
			 Local Justice Area Total remanded in custody Total given immediate custody Proportion sent to immediate custody (%) 
			 Acton - - - 
			 Aldridge & Brownhills 27 11 40.7 
			 Ashby de-la-Zouch and Market Bosworth * * * 
			 Ashby-de-la-Zouch - - - 
			 Barking - - - 
			 Barnet/Hendon - - - 
			 Barnsley 28 13 46.4 
			 Bath & Wansdyke - - - 
			 Batley & Dewsbury - - - 
			 Bedford & Mid Bedfordshire - - - 
			 Bedfordshire 18 3 16.7 
			 Berkshire 42 23 54.8 
			 Berwick-upon-Tweed - - - 
			 Beverley and Wolds - - - 
			 Bexley - - - 
			 Birmingham 104 33 31.7 
			 Blackburn, Darwen & R'Valley - - - 
			 Bolton 11 3 27.3 
			 Boston - - - 
			 Bradford - - - 
			 Bradford and Keighley 29 3 10.3 
			 Brecknock and Radnorshire * * * 
			 Brent - - - 
			 Bridlington - - - 
			 Bristol 43 11 25.6 
			 Bromley - - - 
			 Bromsgrove & Redditch * * * 
			 Buckinghamshire 24 3 12.5 
			 Burnley, Pendle & Rossendale * * * 
			 Bury - - - 
			 Bury and Rochdale * * * 
			 Calderdale 16 6 37.5 
			 Camberwell Green/Tower Bridge - - - 
			 Camberwell Youth Court - - - 
			 Cambridge - - - 
			 Cardiff 36 12 33.3 
			 Carlisle & District - - - 
			 Carmarthenshire * * * 
			 Central Buckinghamshire - - - 
			 Central Devon - - - 
			 Central Hertfordshire - - - 
			 Central London 212 69 32.5 
		
	
	
		
			 Central Norfolk - - - 
			 Ceredigion - - - 
			 Ceredigon and Pembrokeshire * * * 
			 Chester, Ellesmere Port & Neston - - - 
			 Chorley - - - 
			 City of Salford - - - 
			 City of Sunderland * * * 
			 Conwy * * * 
			 Corby * * * 
			 Cornwall 13 4 30.8 
			 County Durham & Darlington 26 5 19.2 
			 County of Wiltshire Magistrates Court * * * 
			 Coventry 13 3 23.1 
			 Croydon - - - 
			 Cynon Valley - - - 
			 De Brycheiniog - - - 
			 Denbighshire * * * 
			 Derby & South Derbyshire 47 11 23.4 
			 Doncaster 35 14 40.0 
			 Dudley and Halesowen * * * 
			 Ealing - - - 
			 East Berkshire - - - 
			 East Cambridgeshire - - - 
			 East Cornwall - - - 
			 East Dorset * * * 
			 East Hertfordshire - - - 
			 East Lancashire 13 2 15.4 
			 East Lincolnshire * * * 
			 East London 124 32 25.8 
			 East Yorkshire * * * 
			 Enfield - - - 
			 Fenland - - - 
			 Flintshire * * * 
			 Furness & District * * * 
			 Fylde Coast 11 8 72.7 
			 Gateshead District * * * 
			 Glamorgan Valleys 22 11 50.0 
			 Gloucestershire 13 7 53.8 
			 Goole & Howdenshire - - - 
			 Grantham - - - 
			 Great Yarmouth - - - 
			 Greenwich/Woolwich - - - 
			 Grimsby & Cleethorpes 23 6 26.1 
			 Gwent 29 6 20.7 
			 Gwynedd 10 3 30.0 
			 Halton - - - 
			 Haringey - - - 
			 Harrogate - - - 
			 Harrogate and Skipton * * * 
			 Harrow - - - 
			 Hartlepool * * * 
			 Havering - - - 
			 Herefordshire * * * 
			 High Peak - - - 
			 Highbury Corner - - - 
			 Hillingdon - - - 
			 Horseferry Road - - - 
			 Houghton-le-Spring - - - 
		
	
	
		
			 Hounslow (Feltham & Brentford) - - - 
			 Huddersfield - - - 
			 Hull & Holderness 34 8 23.5 
			 Huntingdonshire * * * 
			 Hyndburn - - - 
			 Isle of Wight * * * 
			 Keighley - - - 
			 Kettering * * * 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames - - - 
			 Kirklees 18 4 22.2 
			 Knowsley - - - 
			 Lancaster * * * 
			 Langbaurgh East - - - 
			 Leeds District 45 11 24.4 
			 Leicester - - - 
			 Leicester and Rutland * * * 
			 Leicester, Market Harborough and Lutterworth 38 16 42.1 
			 Lichfield & Tamworth 10 5 50.0 
			 Lincoln District - - - 
			 Liverpool - - - 
			 Liverpool and Knowsley 48 15 31.3 
			 Llanelli - - - 
			 Loughborough - - - 
			 Loughborough, Melton, Belvoir and Rutland * * * 
			 Luton & South Bedfordshire - - - 
			 Macclesfield - - - 
			 Manchester 73 24 32.9 
			 Mansfield - - - 
			 Mansfield and Worksop 14 3 21.4 
			 Market Bosworth - - - 
			 Melton, Belvoir & Rutland - - - 
			 Merthyr Tydfil - - - 
			 Mid and South East Northumberland * * * 
			 Mid Staffordshire & Rugeley * * * 
			 Mid-North Essex - - - 
			 Mid-South Essex - - - 
			 Milton Keynes - - - 
			 Miskin - - - 
			 Montgomeryshire - - - 
			 Neath Port Talbot 12 6 50.0 
			 New Forest - - - 
			 Newark & Southwell - - - 
			 Newcastle & Ogmore 11 5 45.5 
			 Newcastle and Tynedale 26 8 30.8 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne District - - - 
			 Norfolk 24 3 12.5 
			 North and East Devon 11 3 27.3 
			 North and East Hertfordshire 11 5 45.5 
			 North Avon * * * 
			 North Cambridgeshire 26 8 30.8 
			 North Cheshire * * * 
			 North Cumbria 12 8 66.7 
			 North Devon - - - 
			 North Durham - - - 
			 North East Derbyshire & Dales 14 3 21.4 
			 North East Hampshire - - - 
			 North East London 47 18 38.3 
		
	
	
		
			 North East Suffolk - - - 
			 North Essex 25 7 28.0 
			 North Hampshire 12 6 50.0 
			 North Hertfordshire - - - 
			 North Lincolnshire * * * 
			 North Liverpool * * * 
			 North London 92 26 28.3 
			 North Sefton - - - 
			 North Somerset - - - 
			 North Surrey 13 6 46.2 
			 North Tyneside District * * * 
			 North West Hampshire - - - 
			 North West London 43 8 18.6 
			 North West Surrey - - - 
			 North West Wiltshire * * * 
			 Northallerton & Richmond - - - 
			 Northampton * * * 
			 Northampton, Daventry and Towcester 27 8 29.6 
			 North-East Essex - - - 
			 Northern Oxfordshire - - - 
			 North-West Essex - - - 
			 Norwich - - - 
			 Nottingham - - - 
			 Nottingham and Newark 25 7 28.0 
			 Oldham 12 4 33.3 
			 Ormskirk * * * 
			 Oxford - - - 
			 Oxfordshire 11 3 27.3 
			 Pembrokeshire - - - 
			 Peterborough - - - 
			 Plymouth District - - - 
			 Pontefract - - - 
			 Preston 13 6 46.2 
			 Radnorshire & North Brecknock - - - 
			 Reading - - - 
			 Redbridge - - - 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames - - - 
			 Rochdale, Middleton & Heywood - - - 
			 Rotherham 17 10 58.8 
			 Sandwell 10 1 10.0 
			 Scarborough * * * 
			 Sedgemoor - - - 
			 Sefton 11 3 27.3 
			 Selby - - - 
			 Severnminster * * * 
			 Sheffield 19 5 26.3 
			 Shrewsbury & North Shropshire * * * 
			 Skegness - - - 
			 Skipton - - - 
			 Solihull * * * 
			 Somerset 12 6 50.0 
			 South and West Devon 18 7 38.9 
			 South Cambridgeshire * * * 
			 South Cheshire * * * 
			 South Devon - - - 
			 South Durham - - - 
			 South East Hampshire 44 11 25.0 
			 South East London 68 17 25.0 
		
	
	
		
			 South East Northumberland - - - 
			 South East Suffolk * * * 
			 South East Surrey 11 2 18.2 
			 South East Wiltshire - - - 
			 South Essex 38 8 21.1 
			 South Hampshire * * * 
			 South Lakeland * * * 
			 South Lincolnshire * * * 
			 South London 117 22 18.8 
			 South Ribble - - - 
			 South Sefton - - - 
			 South Somerset - - - 
			 South Tyneside District * * * 
			 South West London 33 8 24.2 
			 South West Surrey * * * 
			 South Western - - - 
			 South Western Youth Court - - - 
			 South Worcestershire 13 6 46.2 
			 Southampton - - - 
			 South-East Essex - - - 
			 Southern Oxfordshire - - - 
			 South-West Essex - - - 
			 St. Helens 12 3 25.0 
			 Stockport 10 4 40.0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 25 4 16.0 
			 Stratford - - - 
			 Sunderland - - - 
			 Sussex (Central) 19 4 21.1 
			 Sussex (Eastern) 13 3 23.1 
			 Sussex (Northern) * * * 
			 Sussex (Western) 15 4 26.7 
			 Sutton - - - 
			 Sutton Coldfield - - - 
			 Swansea County 14 3 21.4 
			 Swindon * * * 
			 Tameside 13 9 69.2 
			 Taunton Deane - - - 
			 Taunton Deane, West Somerset and Sedgemoor - - - 
			 Teesside 37 7 18.9 
			 Telford & South Shropshire 10 1 10.0 
			 Thames - - - 
			 Thames Youth Court - - - 
			 Thanet 21 11 52.4 
			 The Justice Rooms - - - 
			 Towcester - - - 
			 Trafford 14 5 35.7 
			 Vale of Glamorgan - - - 
			 Vale Royal - - - 
			 Wakefield - - - 
			 Wakefield and Pontefract * * * 
			 Waltham Forest - - - 
			 Warrington - - - 
			 Warwickshire * * * 
			 Wellingborough * * * 
			 West Allerdale & Keswick - - - 
			 West and Central Hertfordshire 24 6 25.0 
			 West Berkshire - - - 
			 West Cheshire * * * 
		
	
	
		
			 West Cornwall - - - 
			 West Cumbria * * * 
			 West Dorset * * * 
			 West Hampshire 27 4 14.8 
			 West Hertfordshire - - - 
			 West Kent 57 19 33.3 
			 West Lincolnshire * * * 
			 West London 87 13 14.9 
			 West London Youth Court - - - 
			 West Norfolk - - - 
			 West Suffolk * * * 
			 Whitehaven - - - 
			 Wigan and Leigh * * * 
			 Wimbledon - - - 
			 Wirral * * * 
			 Wolverhampton 16 8 50.0 
			 Worksop and Retford - - - 
			 Wrexham Maelor 14 5 35.7 
			 Wycombe & Beaconsfield - - - 
			 Ynys Mon/Anglesey * * * 
			 York - - - 
			 York and Selby 17 4 23.5 
			 Total(5) 2885 849 29.4 
		
	
	(-) Nil
	(*) Number of defendants remanded in custody is less than 10, and therefore no meaningful comparison is possible.
	(1) Including those remanded in custody at any stage of proceedings at magistrates' courts who may also have been given bail at some stage of those proceedings.
	(2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
	(4) It should be noted that many of the proportions in this table are derived from low numbers and should be treated with caution.
	(5) Totals include all magistrates' courts.
	Note
	: Defendants may be counted in both tables due to cases being sent from magistrates' court to Crown court either for trial or for sentence in the same year.
	Source
	: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.
	
		
			 Proportion of female defendants remanded in custody at the Crown Court(1) and subsequently given immediate custody, broken down by Crown Court centre, England & Wales, 2013(2)(3)(4) 
			 Crown Court Centre Total remanded in custody Total given immediate custody Proportion sent to immediate custody (%) 
			 Aylesbury Crown Court 11 6 54.5 
			 Basildon Crown Court 34 11 32.4 
			 Birmingham Crown Court 77 39 50.6 
			 Blackfriars Crown Court 31 16 51.6 
			 Bolton Crown Court 18 15 83.3 
			 Bournemouth Crown Court * * * 
			 Bradford Crown Court 19 9 47.4 
			 Bristol Crown Court 56 33 58.9 
			 Burnley Crown Court 19 13 68.4 
			 Cambridge Crown Court 21 16 76.2 
			 Canterbury Crown Court 27 21 77.8 
			 Cardiff Crown Court 55 42 76.4 
			 Carlisle Crown Court 21 12 57.1 
			 Central Criminal Court 25 15 60.0 
			 Chelmsford Crown Court 23 15 65.2 
		
	
	
		
			 Chester Crown Court 20 14 70.0 
			 Chichester Crown Court * * * 
			 Coventry Crown Court - - - 
			 Croydon Crown Court 52 36 69.2 
			 Derby Crown Court 24 14 58.3 
			 Doncaster Crown Court - - - 
			 Dorchester Crown Court * * * 
			 Durham Crown Court 14 8 57.1 
			 Exeter Crown Court 22 9 40.9 
			 Gloucester Crown Court 17 9 52.9 
			 Great Grimsby Crown Court 17 10 58.8 
			 Guildford Crown Court 17 11 64.7 
			 Harrow Crown Court 16 7 43.8 
			 Inner London Sessions House Crown Court 24 13 54.2 
			 Ipswich Crown Court 13 12 92.3 
			 Isleworth Crown Court 78 49 62.8 
			 Kingston upon Thames Crown Court 25 17 68.0 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull Crown Court 24 12 50.0 
			 Leeds Crown Court 60 27 45.0 
			 Leicester Crown Court 24 16 66.7 
			 Lewes Crown Court 38 22 57.9 
			 Lincoln Crown Court 19 11 57.9 
			 Liverpool Crown Court 72 43 59.7 
			 Luton Crown Court 16 6 37.5 
			 Maidstone Crown Court 24 16 66.7 
			 Manchester Crown Court (Crown A square) 62 29 46.8 
			 Manchester Crown Court (Minshull Street) 58 27 46.6 
			 Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court 22 9 40.9 
			 Mold Crown Court 21 18 85.7 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne Crown Court 37 21 56.8 
			 Newport (I.O.W.) Crown Court * * * 
			 Northampton Crown Court 17 7 41.2 
			 Norwich Crown Court 16 12 75.0 
			 Nottingham Crown Court 40 23 57.5 
			 Oxford Crown Court 14 7 50.0 
			 Peterborough Crown Court 11 6 54.5 
			 Plymouth Crown Court 16 8 50.0 
			 Portsmouth Crown Court 12 7 58.3 
			 Preston Crown Court 59 36 61.0 
			 Reading Crown Court 22 14 63.6 
			 Salisbury Crown Court * * * 
			 Sheffield Crown Court 55 41 74.5 
			 Shrewsbury Crown Court * * * 
			 Snaresbrook Crown Court 77 54 70.1 
			 Southampton Crown Court 16 8 50.0 
			 Southwark Crown Court 42 31 73.8 
			 St. Albans Crown Court 19 14 73.7 
			 Stafford Crown Court 20 16 80.0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court 10 6 60.0 
			 Swansea Crown Court 42 28 66.7 
			 Swindon Crown Court 17 7 41.2 
			 Taunton Crown Court 16 0 0.0 
			 Teesside Crown Court 49 28 57.1 
			 Truro Crown Court * * * 
		
	
	
		
			 Warwick Crown Court 19 14 73.7 
			 Winchester Crown Court 21 11 52.4 
			 Wolverhampton Crown Court 45 27 60.0 
			 Wood Green Crown Court 38 21 55.3 
			 Woolwich Crown Court 59 36 61.0 
			 Worcester Crown Court 20 14 70.0 
			 York Crown Court 15 9 60.0 
			 Total(5) 2067 1228 59.4 
		
	
	(-) Nil
	(*) Number of defendants remanded in custody is less than 10, and therefore no meaningful comparison is possible.
	(1) Including those remanded in custody at any stage of proceedings at the Crown Court who may also have been given bail at some stage of those proceedings.
	(2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
	(4) It should be noted that many of the proportions in this table are derived from low numbers and should be treated with caution.
	(5) Totals include all crown courts.
	Note
	: Defendants may be counted in both tables due to cases being sent from magistrates' court to Crown court either for trial or for sentence in the same year.
	Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Lord Storey: To ask her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to extend summer school initiatives to help disadvantaged children improve their levels of attainment after the summer of 2014.

Lord Nash: A decision on whether to extend the Department for Education’s summer schools programme in 2015 will be made towards the end of 2014, in light of information gathered on this year’s summer school programme.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Lord Morrow: To ask her Majesty’s Government what is the estimated current backlog of persons waiting to be assessed by Atos Healthcare for (1) Employment Support Allowance, and (2) Disability Living Allowance, broken down by region of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales; what action they are taking to address the backlog; and on what evidence they base their attribution of the delays to failings within Atos.

Lord Freud: The table below shows outstanding Employment and Support Allowance new claims, existing Employment and Support Allowance recipients awaiting a review and Incapacity Benefit claimants awaiting reassessment, at the end of April 2014 for England, Scotland and Wales. The figures exclude cases referred to Atos Healthcare where the claimant has yet to return their ESA50 questionnaire.
	
		
			 Region ESA New claims awaiting a Work Capability Assessment Existing ESA recipients awaiting a review Work Capability Assessment Incapacity Benefit recipients awaiting reassessment 
			 England 333,000* 201,000* 74,000* 
			 Scotland 34,000* 13,000* 2,000* 
			 Wales 28,000* 20,000* 7,000* 
		
	
	* Note: figures are based on operational management information received from Atos Healthcare and are rounded to the nearest thousand.
	The total Disability Living Allowance claimants’ awaiting an assessment at the end of April 2014 nationally was 800. Figures are based on operational management information received from Atos Healthcare and are rounded to the nearest hundred. This information is not routinely collated to regional area.
	The Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland has a separate contract with Atos Healthcare for the delivery of assessments in Northern Ireland.
	Therefore, questions relating to waiting times in Northern Ireland should be addressed to the Minister for Social Development in Northern Ireland.
	We are working closely with our supplier to deliver the best possible service for claimants, driving up performance and quality to help reduce waiting times and process claims as quickly as possible. We are continuing to monitor and robustly manage this contract.
	Identification by the Department of a reduction in Atos Healthcare’s quality led to decisive action in the form of a retraining and re-accreditation exercise and an overhaul of audit arrangements when we instructed Atos Healthcare to introduce an improvement plan in July 2013. The quality of reports provided by Atos Healthcare has improved significantly but the Department continues to monitor quality closely.

South Sudan

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the adequacy of pledges of humanitarian aid to South Sudan made so far.

Baroness Northover: Humanitarian agencies are appealing for $1.8 billion (£1.06 billion) through the South Sudan Crisis Response Plan (CRP) 2014 to save lives, prevent famine and avert the loss of a generation. Under the CRP agencies plan to provide humanitarian assistance to 3.8 million people in South Sudan by the end of 2014. As of June 2014 $745 million (£438 million) has been secured against the CRP. The UK is concerned about the serious humanitarian situation in South Sudan and the potential for further deterioration. Our assessment is that additional resources will be needed to deliver the CRP over the next six months. The UK is currently the second largest donor to the CRP. We will continue to press others to do more.

Spencer Perceval

Lord Laird: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether there are plans to mark the assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in 1812; if so, what those plans are; and if not, why not.

Lord Sewel: The House of Lords has no such plans. A series of events was held in 2012 to mark the 200th anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. The House of Commons authorities plan to erect a plaque in St Stephen’s Hall near the spot where Spencer Perceval was assassinated.

Succession

Lord Hoyle: To ask her Majesty’s Government whether there is any regulation of heir hunters in the way they operate or the fees they charge beneficiaries; if not, whether they have plans to introduce such regulations; and, if not, why not.

Lord Deighton: There is no regulation in place that specifically covers the way probate researchers operate or the fees they charge beneficiaries.
	Relationships between probate researchers and their clients are normally contractual arrangements and subject to contract law.
	The Government is planning to introduce regulation of the activity of conducting private investigations, surveillance or inquiries, which could bring some probate and asset researchers into scope for statutory licensing by the Security Industry Authority.

Taxis: Wheelchairs

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in implementing section 165 of the Equality Act 2010 which places a duty on taxi drivers to assist passengers who are wheelchair users.

Baroness Kramer: In February 2014, I instructed officials to carry out a survey, through the Disability Action Alliance, in order to provide Ministers with a better understanding of the range of issues facing wheelchair users when using taxis or PHVs around the country. I have shared the survey with Ministerial colleagues and discussions are continuing across Government on how best to address this issue.
	In addition, the Law Commission’s recently published (23rd May 2014) comprehensive review of taxi legislation also considered this matter and the Government will be responding to this document in due course.

Television Channels: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 25 January 2011 (WA 132), what were the final overall installation costs of the Divis transmitter which enables the broadcasting into Northern Ireland of TG4, and of the new low-power television multiplex; what were their annual running costs in the last three years; which government paid what costs; and in which departmental budget they are accounted for.

Lord Gardiner of Kimble: The capital costs for the installation of the analogue transmitter at the Divis site to carry Telefis na Gaeilge (TG4) services are as set out in the reply by Baroness Rawlings on 25 January 2011 (Column WA132). The operational costs of broadcasting TG4 services in analogue from the Divis site were met by Foras na Gaelige. These arrangements ended with digital switchover on 23 October 2012.
	Since 23 October 2012, TG4 services in Northern Ireland have been carried on the new Northern Ireland Multiplex. These arrangements were made under the Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of UK and Ireland in February 2010
	which sets out a framework for co-operation on broadcasting issues in Northern Ireland. Under this arrangement, the Northern Ireland Multiplex carries RTE 1 and RTE 2 services as well as TG4. DCMS meets one third costs of the multiplex (including transmission services) with RTE meeting the remaining two thirds of costs. The costs since October 2012 are shown in the table.
	2012-13—£149,984.84
	2013-14—£264,211.45

Ulster Defence Regiment

Lord Eames: To ask her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to review pensions currently paid to former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

Lord Astor of Hever: There are no plans to review pensions currently paid to former members of the Ulster Defence Regiment.

Unpaid Fines

Lord Howard of Rising: To ask her Majesty’s Government what value of fines remained unpaid at the end of financial years 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2011–12 (1) in total, and (2) with respect to fines issued in that financial year.

Lord Deighton: We have answered this question on the basis that it relates to HMRC penalties.
	1) 2009-10 £0.5 billion2010-11 £1.5 billion2011-12 £1.5 billion
	Fines and Penalties that remain unpaid are included as receivables and are reported in both the Resource Accounts and Trust Statement.
	2) It is not possible to state the value of fines issued in each of the financial years. The question is very broad in scope and covers the majority of the business of the Department. Some data is held in electronic systems and some in paper files, and records are not kept centrally of the value of fines issued across the Department and across all obligations.

Welfare Assistance Schemes

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 19 March (WA 32), whether they will make a Written Ministerial Statement when they place in the Library of the House a copy of the review of the way local authorities have used the funding provided following the abolition of the discretionary Social Fund.

Lord Freud: Decisions on how this information will be presented will be made in due course.

Welfare Assistance Schemes

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Pensions, Steve Webb, on 13 March (HC Deb, 317W) and the Written Answer by Baroness Stowell of Beeston on 3 March (WA 278–9), how they reconcile the statements that “it was always the intention that 2014–15 would be the last year of separate funding for local welfare provision from the Department for Work and Pensions” and that “this decision was taken at the Spending Round 2013”.

Lord Freud: I see no contradiction in the above statements.